


No Regrets

by Replica_of_Divinity



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:39:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13981033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Replica_of_Divinity/pseuds/Replica_of_Divinity
Summary: It's been a long time coming....





	No Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was a gift for kaijulover142 over on tumblr. This fic was originally part of another thing I had posted but I wanted to Re-post this separately since I planned on deleting the original collection of fics.

Ratchet could do all the cursing and grumbling he wanted over the stupidity of the wound which easily could have been avoided, but he knew Arcee wouldn’t listen. So he silently glared at the work in front of him; her shoulder, completely torn open by some stupid overcharged idiot with a-

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had you as my doctor…” She muttered dazedly, mind somewhere else.

Those words gave him pause, memories from long ago filtering through his processor before he promptly shut down that train of thought.

“I could’ve lived never seeing you with an injury again…” He mumbled softly as he finally sealed up the plating.

Arcee began rising and was about to get off the medical slab, “Nah ah ah, I’m going to smooth out that soldering scar! I’m not letting you walk around looking like that.” The second part Ratchet mostly spoke to himself as he went about grabbing the things he needed.

As Ratchet set to work making her armor look nice again he could feel her optics on him, a sensation that long ago would have made him uncomfortable, now it only perplexed him. Pausing he looked up to make optic contact and found Arcee staring at him thoughtfully.

“We should go somewhere, just you and me.” She smiled as if remembering an old joke that you’d forgotten for years.

Ratchet blinked owlishly at her, “What?”

“Not right now obviously. After you get out of work, maybe we could….go for a drive.”

The implication in her words made Ratchet’s old fuel pump do backflips. And then he was having the same realization he was sure she had also just had.

_The war is over._

A particular memory zings into the forefront of his thoughts. An old cave on earth, an expression of emotions, and an agreement to not let them get in the way. He returned his attention to her shoulder to add the finishing touches as he let everything sink in. When he pulled back he sighed.

“You’re right, it has been a long time, for a lot of things.” He sounded tired as the words left his lips.

Ratchet turned and walked away and began putting away his tools. He barely noticed as she hopped down and walked over to him until her servo was on his shoulder. He glanced back at her, her expression serious.

“Ratchet, I’m obviously not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to, but regardless of what comes of it I think getting out with someone familiar would do you some good. I’ve heard you’ve been keeping to yourself a lot these days, people are worried. I’m worried.”

Ratchet’s first instinct was to snap at her, tell her to mind her own business, but that’s his first instinct with everyone, and Arcee is not just anyone. Though his temper roiled just at the edges of his person he took a deep calming in-vent and let it out very slowly. He was still inclined to refuse the offer, but something in the way her gaze softened, the way he could tell she knew he was getting agitated; it poked at something deep in his spark.

He spluttered for a moment before giving an exasperated grumble, “Fine, I get off in two hours. Then you can take me where ever you like.”

Arcee smiled gently at that, “Where ever I like? I’ll keep that in mind.”

As she turned to leave Ratchet found himself watching her walk away, an odd and unfounded anxiety bubbling in his tanks. If he was a tad short with the rest of his patients they knew him well enough not to point it out.

***

Stepping out of the medical facility and into the chilly night air would have usually worked out all the kinks in his stressed and tense joints, but considering Ratchet’s predicament it did nothing but make him stretch his cables more taught. It only took a bit of short cursory glancing to catch the gleam of her blue armor in the light of the street lamps. Arcee was sat patiently on a bench across the street, she’d already noticed him it seemed and was standing to come join him at the foot of the steps.

“Well then, where are we off to?” He tried to sound less grouchy, it didn’t work obviously because she laughed.

“Relax Ratchet, when have I ever walked you into a trap?” she paused and then amended, “On purpose. We’re just going for a drive, a little ways past city limits I figure. Somewhere quiet where the stars aren’t framed by buildings when you look up.”

Ratchet blinked, marveling slightly at the simplicity of her choice. Not only that it came from Arcee but also because something in the back of his mind commented that it sounded nice. “Quaint.”

She turned to him then, quizzical look on her face, “You have a better idea? I didn’t exactly peg you for a night on the town kind of mech.”

Ratchet scoffed, “At my age? At this point in my life? I’d make a fool of myself.”

Arcee began walking and gave a motion with her hand for him to follow, stepping out onto the road and transforming. “But in the past? Would you have chosen differently if you were younger?”

He followed suit and remained silent for a moment as they began driving. He wasn’t so sure how much he wanted to talk about his younger self. The young medical student who had still yet to witness all the horror the universe could offer. He relented though, feeling comfortable enough that no one else was listening in, “This may come as a surprise to you, but I was a stupid young bot once and I did happen to enjoy dancing.”

Arcee’s headlights brightened momentarily at that, likely in amusement judging by the tone she took afterwards, “Really? You? Dancing?”

Despite himself he found a chuckle tumbling out at her amused and vaguely dumbfounded response, “Yes, I danced, and I wasn’t half bad either. Not that I would ever go up against Jazz, especially not at this point. I held more prowess in slow dancing anyway, things that required more thought and delicacy.”

“I could see it.” Her tone was far too soft then, as if she very well was imagining him in his younger days slow dancing with other young but perhaps better looking bots.

The rest of drive was blissfully quiet, and in the rhythmic beat of his tires on the road and the soft but present EM field beside him, he found himself relaxing. Everything he’d pulled too tight during the day finally let up, all his joints held stiffly settled into a resting state. He felt more relaxed than he had in quite a while, and for a moment he regretted his earlier snippy behavior and near refusal of this opportunity to spend time with someone who had once been almost more than a friend. He didn’t have it in him to break the silence and make the moment more heavy than it needed to be, so he reached out with his field and ghosted it against Arcee’s. A silent thank you and a gentle apology.

He was glad she didn’t react physically or verbally to the sudden intrusion of her “space”, but it was perhaps no less startling when her field tangled with his as if in warm embrace. Feelings so soft and warm and welcoming washed over him, and he felt himself drifting closer to her minutely.

Finally past city limits and out on the wide open road Arcee slowed and then gently moved off the road before transforming back into root mode. Ratchet followed the example and walked beside her as they approach a hill and climbed up the gentle incline until it leveled out. New Iacon behind them and another city just barely visible in the distance, and above them….the entirety of the sky.

Ratchet stood there just looking up into the black velvety expanse with glimmering pinpoints of light. It didn’t even register that Arcee had placed her servo in his until he noticed himself reflexively squeezing it gently. He slowly glanced down at their clasped hands, bringing them up closer for inspection. Her slender digits, gently laced between his larger more blunt ones. There was an odd calm in looking at the way her servo seemed to fit his, even if the notion was romantic nonsense, he’d let himself think about it a moment longer.

The warm glow of her optics caught his attention next. She seemed to be mirroring the odd calm he himself was experiencing right this moment. She didn’t hold his gaze for long, casting her eyes back up to the sky then down again as she un-subspaced something. It was a bottle of Engex, to be more specific, it was Ratchet’s preferred brand.

He snorted at the sight of it before giving her a playfully stern look, “Been snooping have you?”

She laughed lightly, and it was an oddly pleasant sound on his audials, “Sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t do any espionage for our date. I remember you telling me yourself that you liked this brand. It was a long time ago though, so I’m glad I picked right.”

Energon pooled behind Ratchet’s faceplates at the idea that even during the war Arcee had found the time to remember his preference of Engex. She handed him the bottle and then unlaced their fingers, producing two glasses. He found himself missing the contact immediately, but gladly took to opening the bottle and filling the two glasses. He took his glass and made to hand back the bottle but she stopped him.

“Keep it, it’s your favorite after all.” She spoke with a soft smile.

He nodded his thanks and subspaced the bottle. She held up her glass then, “To peace time.”

“To peace time.” He nodded and touched his glass to hers before tossing his drinks back swiftly.

He chuckled when he looked back and she was making a face, “I suppose I should’ve warned you about the burn.”

She coughed and cleared her intake, “Maybe.”

The two laughed then, a genuine laugh and for the first time after the war had ended Ratchet genuinely felt like everything was going to be okay. As it died into giggling and then back into silence, the two of them smiling but not quite making eye contact, Ratchet had a thought. He took her glass and his and set them down on the ground before holding out his arms. She looked at him, clearly confused and he rolled his optics.

“I may not be as good as I used to be, but I promise I won’t step on your pedes.”

Realization dawned in her optics and she smiled, stepping up and taking his servo, her other going to his shoulder. As his other servo came to rest on her waist and they began moving she came to realize she was experiencing a side of Ratchet likely no one else had in a long time, and she felt suddenly humbled. She could tell he was keeping the movements simple for her, so she could follow along easily and she was grateful for that. But beneath that she could easily see the experience in his movements, the control and lingering fluidity of someone who used to do this all the time.

He spun her and then pulled her flush against his chest plating and despite he being the one that did it they both looked startled by the sudden proximity. They stilled and merely looked at each other, the wheels seemed to be turning in Ratchet’s processor.

“Hey Ratchet?” Arcee questioned quietly, “No regrets?”

He smiled.

_“No regrets.” And the space between them vanished._


End file.
